Highest-rated 2020 signee among three Gamecocks entering transfer portal
A trio of South Carolina baseball freshmen have entered the transfer portal, including the most highly-touted recruit out of the 2020 recruiting class.
Pitchers Magdiel Cotto and Travis Luensmann and outfielder Brandon Fields are all in the portal, a team spokesman confirmed to The State on Monday.
Fields was a top-50 prospect in his class, according to Perfect Game, and a top-150 prospect for the 2020 MLB Draft according to Baseball America before he elected to bypass the draft completely and come to school.
Heading into the fall, Fields was considered a contender for the Gamecocks’ center field spot and flashed tantalizing potential. Coach Mark Kingston did note, however, that he struck out at a high rate, and when the season began this February, Fields did not break into the starting lineup.
Instead, over 45 games this season for USC, he appeared in just six, going 0-for-6 at the plate with one walk and one HBP, striking out four times.
At one point, Fields was considered a two-sport prospect — he had committed to the Gamecock football team as a running back. When he withdrew from the MLB Draft, though, he announced his intent to focus solely on baseball.
Cotto and Luensmann were both top-200 prospects in Perfect Game’s rankings, boasting high-end velocity and size. Cotto, 6-foot-4, appeared in eight games this season, giving up nine runs, eight earned, in 8 2/3 innings. Luensmann, 6-foot-6, made just one appearance, giving up six runs, four earned, in 2 1/3 innings.
Fields, Cotto and Luensmann join fellow freshman Josh Shuler in entering the transfer portal this spring — Shuler, also ranked in the top 150 by Perfect Game, departed USC’s roster in late March.
South Carolina’s 2020 recruiting class was rated as one of the finest in the country by several national publications, coming in at No. 4 in Perfect Game’s rankings, No. 5 for D1Baseball.com and No. 6 for Baseball America.
USC checked in at No. 25 in D1Baseball’s latest rankings released Monday and No. 24 in Baseball America’s ratings. The Gamecocks travel to Clemson on Tuesday to complete their annual rivalry series.
NEXT USC BASEBALL GAME
Who: No. 25 South Carolina vs. Clemson
When: 6 p.m. Tuesday
Where: Doug Kingsmore Stadium, Clemson, South Carolina
Watch: Streaming online on ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN
This story was originally published May 10, 2021 at 4:37 PM.
